Category: Movie Review

Star Wars Episode 1:The Phantom Menace

menace

A long time ago, in a galaxy far far away there was a legendary movie called Star Wars that captivated audiences and inspired generations with one of cinemas greatest trilogies. Well almost two decades later, we got the first of a prequel trilogy, aiming to reignite  our love of Star Wars. Well, did it succeed?

The Trade Federation is leaning heavy on the newly elected Queen Amidala so Jedi master Qui-Gon Jinn and his apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi go to delegate. The viceroys try in vain to kill the Jedi who escape and sneak aboard an invasion ship of battle droids to warn the Queen war is likely coming. On the way they meet a goofy creature named Jar Jar who aids them get to her. The Jedi, the Queen with her security head as well as a few handmaidens and the goofball, manage to escape the Trade Federation getting stuck on the desert planet of Tatonine where Qui-Gon finds a helpful yet curious boy named Anakin Skywalker, who is seriously strong with the force. Qui-Gon is determined to have this boy trained as a Jedi despite the Jedi council’s hesitation while a new threat looms in the background. Enter Darth Maul.

Okay, there is a lot to say for this movie. There are some great things about it: I love Qui-Gon and Obi-wan; the final lightsaber duel against Maul is iconic, and Maul is a badass with the also iconic double bladed lightsaber. The score is amazing and the cinematography at times is breathtaking. On the opposite side of the spectrum are some hard negatives.: wooden characters, lame dialogue, overuse of CGI that hasn’t aged well in certain parts, Jar Jar is annoying as hell and Anakin has moments of surpassing Jar Jar and I hate the inserted “Chosen One” thing. Phantom Menace is overall a fair first entry to set the series up but damn their is a huge room for improvement. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

 

Birds of Prey trailer 2

Lately DC has been on fire with there last few movies and it seems the new directions they’ve been taking are going in the right direction. So I say that to say I’m curious if this movie is either going to be a more cringe- worthy counterpart to Suicide Squad or this maybe decent. I see some potential in this new trailer but I can’t help but feel like it may be a mess. It’s going to be a interesting birthday trip. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Brahms: The Boy 2 trailer 1

Why, I wonder; of all the deserving horror movies out there why the hell would anyone want a sequel to The Boy ? While not the worst horror movie, it does have one of the dumbest twists in recent memory. Well the sequel looks like most generic ghost stories and besides why is this a thing, I also ask why the hell Katie Holmes decided to jump on board this thing. I’m hoping for a decent flick but I’m not openly optimistic. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Star Wars Episode 3: The Game

sith game

I’ve been holding off talking about the Star wars prequels, there is so much to say and so little time. I will say this though, of all the movie tie in games I’ve played over my life, I honestly think this game is actually superior to the movie it’s based off of. Revenge of the Sith is the story Star Wars fans had been craving for ages, the story of Anakin Skywalker’s turn to the dark side and becoming Darth Vader. Without getting into the movie too much, this game does a lot with early Vader I wanted to see in the movie. As a new Sith lord, you fight hordes of Jedi and as an assassin you get to fight through some heavy resistance. Certain scenes were elongated and gave some nice character moments the movie was missing, like a final battle with Mace Windau, paused moments between Obi-Wan and Anakin, and Anakin fighting two legendary Jedi swordsmen.

The gameplay is pretty fun, switching between Anakin and Obi-Wan’s point of view, but the best part are the boss fights which were the challenging as hell but feel like a real lightsaber duel. The combos are easy enough to execute and the powers are well done. Upgrading throughout the game noticeably increases your power and feels earned. There is a multiplayer vs mode which is a blast with friends and a few bonus stages including an alternate ending, a stage dedicated to replaying Obi-wan and Vader’s rematch, and some horde maps. The music is a nice touch and the cut-scenes are mainly from the movie which I liked a lot. The graphics are fine but the voice acting is mostly flat. The game isn’t too long but there’s fun to be had after but overall it’s rather short.  I recommend it for Star Wars fans and it’s a pretty solid game. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers The Movie

classic power rangers movie

I’m 28 years old, almost 29, and I still love the old school Power Rangers, I’m not ashamed to admit it; I even enjoyed Power Rangers while Savior sure as hell didn’t ( Power Rangers 2017 (2nd opinion) ). I love the kick ass music, the cheesy acting, and strangely awesome fights. So let’s jump into there very own movie.

We join the Power Rangers as they live there normal lives and the lives of there superhero alter-egos keeping Angel Grove safe from the diabolical clutches of Lord Zed and Rita Repulsa . Tommy, Kimberly, Rocky, Adam, Aisha, and Billy are about to face there greatest threat yet when Zed and Rita revive the ancient Ivan Ooze who Zordon imprisoned centuries before. Ivan destroys the ranger’s command center and leaves them powerless and Zordon dying. The Powers are sent off planet to search for a great power to Combat Ooze but he is mind controlling the adults of Angel Grove to uncover his Zords. Can the rangers stop this ancient monster in time?

Is this movie good in the traditional sense? Hell no. The effects are pretty cheap looking and there is a lot of fake looking wire work, the acting is cheesy and over the top, and there’s a of things to date it. But, all that being said, it’s awesome because for most of it, it’s what we love Power Rangers for. The ranger scenes in full costume are pretty awesome and I do like the costumes aren’t spandex this time and while all the fights are corny, they do hype you up. The second act slows the pacing down quite a bit and admittedly, I wish we had more rangers in costume. In the end, it’s a fun piece of nostalgia for the 90’s kids and I still have fun with it. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

classic power rangers movie 2

A Bug’s Life

a bug's life

The older I get, the more I think about the ants and the grasshoppers and weirdly enough the movie wasn’t far enough from the truth if you are a normal worker at your job…oh well, enough of the philosophical crap and let’s talk about a Disney/ Pixar movie.

It’s a time of harvest for the ants, who are overseen by the large, menacing grasshopper gang. Flick is a plucky ant who likes to invent things, but the problem is Flick is kind of a screw up. One of his inventions goes awry and causes the whole summer’s harvest to get destroyed minutes before the grasshoppers show up. The leader of the grasshoppers, Hopper, tells the soon to be queen, Princess Ata that they want twice the food by time the last leaf falls or else. Flick, is allowed to go find heroes to fight the grasshoppers with the intention of getting rid of him; Flick does find a group of disgraced circus bugs he mistakes for heroes and who are willing to pretend to keep morale up for the ants. Can Flick’s plans work or are the ants doomed?

A Bug’s Life is one of those kid’s movies that is all around enjoyable. The animation holds up pretty well and Pixar tells a pretty heartwarming story as they usually do. Kevin Spacey has some menacing moments as Hopper. The movie has a solid story and good, likable characters with a pretty satisfying ending. It’s a movie I enjoyed as much as an adult as I did as a kid and it’s well worth a watch. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Murder Party

murder party

There are very few times I’m genuinely surprised when looking through movies for this blog. Most of the time, I can tell what will be be decent and what’s going to be crap, especially when horror movies are concerned. This time I find myself pleasantly surprised…

Chris is a boring dork who lives a boring life and is so dull his cat won’t even listen to him. While walking home Halloween night, Chris comes across a mysterious invitation floating through the breeze for something called a Murder Party. Thinking nothing of it, Chris goes home, bakes some pumpkin bread and whips up a knight costume out of cardboard and duct tape. What he finds is a get together of psychotic art-house nerds that plan on killing Chris in the name of artistic expression. Bound, gagged, and outnumbered, what are the chances he’ll survive the night?

I have to admit I had a surprising amount of fun with this movie. After the first five or ten minutes, there is a good amount of slapstick and goofball humor that spans the rest of the run-time as well as some funny and WTF kills. The movie is really short at 80 minutes and doesn’t overstay it’s welcome. By the end, I was satisfied by this low budget horror comedy and thought there were some good twists to carry me through. The only issue I have is the opening minutes crawl but once the party starts, the pacing evens out. I’d recommend this for anyone who wants something a bit different. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Gretel and Hansel trailer 2

I have to admit, despite the PG-13 rating and January release date, I’m actually pretty excited for this dark, horror retelling of the iconic fairy tale. I love the imagery I’ve seen so far and I like what of I’ve seen of the witch so far. I’m hoping it’ll be something different and memorable. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

Doom: Annihilation

doom A

With a tagline like this, you would swear they tried making a movie based on a video game. Truth of the matter is, I don’t think the writers or brains behind this movie played a Doom game in there lives. There’s Mars, a random chainsaw for 30 seconds, a demon ( I guess anyway), the BFG and some keycards, and that’s pretty much it. Doom: Annihilation follows a group of space marines as they travel to a installation on Mars that was doing research on old ruins. What they find is base overrun with zombies and energy shooting demons.

Normally I would go more in depth into the plot but honestly this movie is simply generic from it’s characters to it’s setting and even it’s story. The effects are pretty cheesy, like Sci-fi channel cheesy. There are some unintentionally funny moments but nothing utterly hilarious. The end falls apart and the movie ends on a random cliffhanger. Honestly, nothing in this feels like Doom, but rather a cheap ass cash grab.  The movie is disposable to be blunt and it’s OK to skip. May the gaming gods bring you glory.

A Quiet Place, part 2 trailer 1

A Quiet Place was one of my favorite horror movies of recent memory if not the whole last decade; the trailer for 2 doesn’t look like it’ll disappoint. I like seeing how the invasion began and I love that now we get this lovable family vs a world of broken people as well as the monsters themselves. I have high hopes. May the gaming gods bring you glory.